Whoopi Goldberg Got A Ribbing From Star Trek: TNG's Cast In The Name Of Charity
Nichelle Nichols herself told the story in Roger Nygard's 1997 documentary film "Trekkies." It seems that a young Black girl, maybe 11 or 12, was watching "Star Trek" for the first time in the late 1960s. When that girl saw Nichols portraying the communications officer on the U.S.S. Enterprise, she leaped up and ran to her mother to share the good news. The girl yelled, "There's a Black woman on TV, and she ain't no maid!" That girl was Whoopi Goldberg.
Goldberg was a "Star Trek" fan ever since, and would eventually be given a role on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" some 21 years later. Goldberg, it seems, was friends with LeVar Burton, who played Geordi La Forge on the show, and requested that he do her a favor. Since Goldberg was a big movie star, the makers of NextGen were happy to have her on the show. According to the special features on the season 2 "Next Generation" DVDs, Goldberg proudly announced that she was successful now, and had the leeway to do whatever she wanted, including "Star Trek." Goldberg was given the role of Guinan, the chief bartender on the U.S.S. Enterprise and a confidant to the captain. She was more or less a secondary counselor on the show (in addition to Marina Sirtis' Deanna Troi).
Goldberg was also, as many might know, one of the three hosts of Comic Relief, a charity founded by Bob Zmuda in 1986. Goldberg, Robin Williams, and Billy Crystal would co-host annual fundraising comedy shows to raise money for the homeless and other causes, often racking up millions. Comic Relief ran annually until finally dissolving in 2011.
In 1994, however, it was still in full swing ... as was "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Some might recall a bizarre crossover between the two.
Comic Relief: The Next Generation
As part of the 1994 edition of Comic Relief, several cast members of "Next Generation" filmed a segment on the Enterprise sets, all in full costume and in character, investigating several bizarre 20th-Century comedians. Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, and LeVar Burton all played along. Perhaps Patrick Stewart was busy that day.
In the segment, Commander Riker, Counselor Troi, Worf, Data, Dr. Crusher, and Geordi all gathered in the Enterprise's observation lounge to discuss certain artifacts left over from 1990s Earth, mysterious salvaged from an away mission on a faraway alien world. Data holds up several Comic Relief t-shirts as well as a primitive Comic Relief videocassette. Geordi calls up a picture of Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg. The funny part: none of them know how to pronounce "Whoopi," falling back on "Hoop-Eye." It's Dr. Crusher who notices that Hoop-Eye Goldberg bears a striking resemblance to Guinan. For a moment, the crew thinks about the coincidence before collectively agreeing, "Nah."
They also examine the t-shirts and sweatshirts on the table and note that they are made of synthetic materials that havd been banned in the 21st century. The Enterprise's transporters, it seems, couldn't handle a 50/50 blend of cotton and polyester. They also manage to work in some of Comic Relief's earnings reports and stats and where viewers' donations may go.
The "Star Trek" actors were clearly doing Goldberg a favor. Judging by the actors' costumes, the video segment was clearly filmed during the show's seventh and final season of "Next Generation."
Hoop-Eye Goldberg
Data also notes that in the first five Comic Relief telecasts, the organization earned over $20 million, although in the world of "Star Trek," those figures would be meaningless. "Star Trek" takes place in a post-capitalist system, and the measuring of success in a defunct Earth currency would be moribund. Regardless, Counselor Troi looks impressed at the stats.
The "Star Trek" thing to do would, of course, be to comment that homelessness was a systemic problem in a capitalist world, and they would offer 24th-century solutions. Resources, they might posit, could easily be reallocated to shelter those without homes. Perhaps the economic injustice of ever-rising rents could be addressed, or the need to pass robust mental health legislation. Of course, offering stern, real-life lessons was antithetical to Comic Relief, a show that sought to raise money and hope through laughter, not through gentle chiding. Data repeats the show's slogan: Where there's laughter, there's hope.
The clip then cuts back to Goldberg, on stage at the live 1994 Comic Relief show, embarrassed that the "Star Trek" actors would stoop to mispronouncing her name. She jokes that they needed aliens to sell t-shirts.
Comic Relief may be defunct in 2023, but the website Donorbox has a list of charities devoted to ending homelessness. If the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" has inspired you to give, try one of the charities on that site.